Incapacitants such as CS, Oleoresin Capsicum (OC), and CN gas are widely used in law enforcement, for military purposes, and by individuals for their own personal security.
Known incapacitants have drawbacks. For instance CS does not always incapacitate the person on which it is used. If the person has been taking drugs the CS may actually make him more violent, OC incapacitant, more commonly known as pepper spray creates undesirable eye, lung and skin effects. In particular OC is known to be a carcinogen.
Oleoresin Capsicum pepper extract is a brown sticky substance, and when mixed with solvents it forms a brown liquid. This brown liquid can mark skin and clothing.
Apart from the problems inherent in the product, known incapacitants also cause operational problems. The incapacitant on an assailant who has been sprayed with an incapacitant may cross contaminate other people, including the very officers who are trying to control him. Clearly this is disadvantageous.
An example of a known incapacitant is disclosed in JP 49035198 B4, where a mixture comprising nonylic acid vannillylamide, ammonia and red pepper combine to provide for the inducement of lachrymatory and sneezing effects.
Known incapacitants affect the respiratory system of those people on which they are used. If a person has a respiratory problem, using an incapacitant on him may pose a serious health risk. Of course, the sprayer of the incapacitant does not know the medical condition of the person he is spraying. The result is that there is a small risk of an incapacitant which is designed to be non-lethal being potentially lethal for some people. Clearly it is most undesirable, from both a social and a financial point of view, to cause death unnecessarily.
Despite the disadvantages of the many known incapacitants, a significant number of countries have taken the view that the risk of death and injury both to assailants and those using the incapacitants is worth taking, given the ever increasing use of violence in today's society.
It would therefore be desirable to provide an improved incapacitant for use by police forces, peace-keeping forces, the military and also personal use.